The Changing Role of a Nanny

As a nanny’s charges age, the nanny’s role and responsibilities will change. Obviously when you have a young child – an infant or a toddler – the nanny will need to concentrate their time and attention on the child, attending to their physical needs and interacting with them.  But as children age and become more independent, the duties of the nanny need to change as well.  The child no longer needs constant watching and care, but they will also still have their moments when they will need to come first. How do you address the changing role of a nanny?

A good way to deal with this transition is to sit down with your nanny and discuss the changing needs of the family and child.  If you need to shift the work to more household chores, you should discuss this with the nanny and see how amenable she is to the change.  There may be a few chores that she feels comfortable doing, and a few that she does not.  Discuss the issue together and come to a mutual agreement of what is acceptable.  Then you can sit down and write a new job description.  Talking things over and understanding what is acceptable to both parties can help you to retain that valued employee.  And always stress that the children are still the primary responsibility and that if the housework needs to be left for a day due to the children’s needs, so be it.

However, it is also important to remember that as your family’s needs change, it’s possible you may need to make a change in child care.  The nanny who is wonderful with an infant may not be the right person for a toddler.  The nanny who took such incredible care of your first child may not be the right fit for your second, or to look after two children at once.  There are times when a change in nanny is the best way to get the right help for your family.

For questions and more information, please contact GTM’s Household Employment Experts at (888) 432-7972.